


Under the Cat's Paw

by Striga



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Gen, Mad Science, Playful kitty does not bode well for prey, Possessive Behavior, Predator/Prey, Roughhousing, Shrinking, Tessai shakes his head a lot, Urahara is a bird, Wingfic, Yoruichi is a cat, Yoruichi is a playful kitty, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 20:50:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1722122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Striga/pseuds/Striga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an experiment goes pear-shaped and Urahara finds himself four inches tall, unable to speak, and sporting a set of feathers, he needs some help getting back to normal. Catching the attention of his feline best friend seems like a good idea, and the best way for him to get the assistance he needs. </p>
<p><i>He</i> thinks he’s had a stroke of luck when she walks into the lab. Unfortunately, <i>she</i> thinks she just found a snack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Cat's Paw

**I. Not the best idea**

Kisuke Urahara had a lot of ideas. Good ideas, bad ideas, ethical ideas, immoral ideas, profitable ideas, stupid ideas…he had all kinds and was notoriously bad at discerning between them. Or rather, he never tried to categorize them; he researched and experimented with whatever made him curious, regardless of the potential ramifications. The hokyoku had been the product of one such idea. This was another, though one with less far-reaching, but still significantly inconvenient, consequences.

Five minutes ago, it had seemed like such a good idea, too.

That was before he actually started testing the early prototype bird-based gigai and found himself shrinking down, _down_ , **_down._** In seconds, he’d been swallowed by his increasingly baggy clothing and pinned under the weight of anything and everything he’d had on him. When he finally managed to struggle free from the ocean of fabric, he found himself underneath his hat and took a moment to take stock of the situation.

If his calculations were correct, he’d finally stopped shrinking at about four inches in height and less than half an ounce in weight; the size of a small songbird. The appearance of his human body was perfectly reproduced except for one glaring difference; a set of downy white wings protruding from his shoulder blades. They were short and small and ridiculously fluffy, only a six inch wingspan, three inches to each wing, compared to his four inch height; probably useless for flying far or high and obviously suited to a life hopping on the ground and gliding or ‘scooping’ the air to maneuver over limited distances. They were also constantly in motion, apparently separate from his conscious control; they fluffed up, fidgeted, flapped, fluttered, curled…he watched them with interest, but when he tried to force them to stop moving, they refused to obey his mental commands. The only thing he could seem to make them do was ruffle and puff up, giving him the appearance of a large cotton ball; he had no idea if it was normal to have that much down, but he thought it looked a little ridiculous, especially close to his body.

Folded, the innermost ‘arm’ – what would be the humerus bone in a bird – was thick and short, apparently containing most of the wing’s muscles along with his shoulders and back. The extended radius and ‘hand’ bones were thinner, longer, and more fragile but still only reached about half the way along the wing; the rest was feathers swooping out and down in a rounded fan. Since he was human-shaped and already had arms occupying the primary limb spot, the wings protruding from his back had nowhere to rest and instead draped awkwardly over his shoulders or jutted out backwards when not in motion. Folded, they reached from the top of his shoulder to right below his knees…though that wasn’t much use because their constant movements extended over his head and below his ankles. Had he mentioned that was an impressive distance of four inches?

…Maybe the test would have gone better if he’d used a bigger species…

There were also less obvious internal physical changes. His entire frame was lighter to handle the possibility of flying, though also reinforced via reiatsu so the gigai would not easily break (he’d foreseen the problem of hollow bones, even if he hadn’t expected it to happen at such a small size)…so much so that he felt like a stiff breeze would blow him away. The reinforcements wouldn’t be able to save him from a directed, pointed attack such as a sword to the heart or a bullet to the head, but he’d survive anything less than a deadly blow to a vital organ.

The problem of body heat would also be an issue; at this size, he was losing it faster than his body could create it and he was already shivering in the cool morning air of the lab, even out of the open breeze under his hat. Clothes would be impossible until he was back to normal; there were none small enough to fit his form and something even a little bit too big would send him sprawling under its weight and make it harder to get back to normal, not to mention they wouldn’t help retain body heat because he was too small to generate it in the first place.

Instincts might also be a problem; the gigai was built to contain the instincts necessary to control the form and apparently it was considerably more ‘songbird’ than Kisuke had expected – he had no idea what that could entail for his mental state.

Finally, the biggest problem was that his reiatsu was sealed. Power-draining was a common precaution built into early prototype gigais so that the first inhabitant would not inadvertently destroy it before it could be calibrated – usually, Urahara would pop inside, calibrate for five or ten minutes, pop back out, and remove the reiatsu seal. Obviously, that was not going to happen in this situation. And seeing as he was too small to swallow a gikon pill or be affected by the expulsion stamp on the foot of his cane, reversing his plight could prove problematic, especially on his own.

Oh well, no use sitting here worrying about it. He’d just have to find Tessai and come up with a different way to turn himself back to normal. He’d have to make his way out of the basement lab, up the flights of stairs, through the alleyway, and into the shoten. It seemed like such a long way at this size…

With that thought firmly in mind, the little scientist crawled his way out from under his hat (he was too weak to lift it completely, so he had to content himself with propping the brim up slightly and squirming under) and stood up out in the open, under the bright lights of the lab and the monstrous furniture towering overhead. The wings fluffed and ruffled themselves, as if pleased to be freed, and then settled across his back, finally still but jutting out in all directions. He noticed with vague surprise that they had shed quite a few feathers and he knelt down to pick one up. Contrary to his initial observation, it wasn’t completely white; the tip was the same color as his hair and it faded from light blonde to full white a quarter of the way down the shaft. This particular feather was as long as his hand, squat, soft, and flimsy; obviously a down feather from close to his body. There was a whole flurry of them surrounding the area where he’d shrunk.

Curiosity taking hold, he investigated the feathers, picking each one up, running it through his hands, and mentally taking down the dimensions to figure out where it had come from and why it might have been shed. He was so intent on his task that he didn’t notice when the closed door on the other side of the room creaked open and a familiar black feline slipped into the lab.

Yoruichi froze less than a foot into the room, tail lashing and nose scenting. Her entire body seemed to perk as she picked up the unmistakable scent of prey and the sound of rustling feathers. The cat crouched down into a stalk, ears coming forward and every muscle singing the hunt; she _loved_ this part of being a cat. The thrill of the chase, the catch, the kill…she was a second division girl at heart and when her feline instincts told her what to do in this form, she gladly gave in and let the animalistic side of her mind run free. She slunk silently closer to the fluffy, fluttering thing at the other side of the room.

Oblivious to the danger, Urahara continued counting feathers and moving steadily away from his clothes – his only source of shelter – and towards the middle of the room. So far, he’d found seven down feathers and two semiplumes; he assumed they had been loosened by the transformation. He was intent on searching for any he’d missed and, in his enthusiasm, his wings came back into motion, fluffing and flapping against his back, occasionally carrying him into gliding hops and remaining unfurled so that they nearly dragged on the floor at times.

The black cat, mind fully enveloped by instinct, watched the little creature flit closer with excitement. It smelled like _prey_. A little bird, probably. Not good eating, but lots of fun to play with. Urahara and Tessai wouldn’t mind, either; they indulged her hunts with amusement and even cleaned up the leftover feathers, fur, and entrails when she got a little too…enthusiastic…after bringing her prey home. She shifted into a crouch, ready to pounce as it came around a table leg, removing the last obstacle in her path.

Suddenly, every hair on Urahara’s body stood on end. He froze, feeling a sense of threat that shrieked at the panic center of his brain. His wings puffed up as big as possible and stretched to protectively cover as much of his back as they could reach and he looked over his shoulder, noticing for the first time the black shape…huge from this angle…watching him with luminescent golden eyes. He immediately relaxed and grinned at his best friend.

She didn’t respond.

He slowly frowned, fingers of dread and confusion crawling down his spine as he noticed her posture and the fixated look in her eyes. She looked like a _predator._

He swallowed and allowed the feathers in his hands to slide to the floor. His new bird hindbrain was telling him to fly, to flee, to escape while he still had a chance but his human brain was telling him that a cat was faster than a bird at this distance and any attempt to retreat would trigger an attack.

“Yoruichi?” He tried to call out. To his horror, all that came out of his mouth was a soft trill, a cross between a squeak and a chirp. Instantly, he knew what had happened; the vocal cords of the gigai were too small and shallow to produce human sounds. And since he’d only been in it for a short period of time and was not wearing any of his normal attire; it probably didn’t smell like him. If Yoruichi was too ensconced in her feline mind to notice what he looked like beyond ‘yummy with wings’, especially since he looked like nothing _but_ wings from her angle, he was in deep, _deep_ trouble.

The cat didn’t move or even blink, waiting silently for the perfect moment to attack. In her crosshairs, Urahara stood frozen, staring back at her over his shoulder. Anything he tried to say came out as a squeak or chirp and he knew the sounds were just making her more excited; her tail lashed more quickly every time he spoke or fluttered his wings. There was no sign that she recognized him in the least.

She extended one foreleg towards him, setting a paw with the claws fully extended just a few inches closer…and he snapped. His wings flared into movement in instinctual panic and he jumped into the air, flapping as fast as he could.

The cat pounced.

Her prey didn’t stand a chance.

* * *

Yoruichi strode into the shoten with her head and tail held high and proud. She hadn’t found Urahara, but she’d never really expected him to be in the lab anyway; early mornings were usually reserved for business work. He was probably visiting a supplier or arranging shipments or something else boring at the far reaches of Karakura Town. He’d show up eventually. Besides, she’d found a new toy that would make passing the time much more fun.

Jinta was the first person to cross her path.

“Hey, Yoruichi-san.” He greeted. She grumbled a muffled greeting and he did a double take, noting her appearance, then grimaced. “Tessai! Yoruichi caught something again!” He yelled.

Ururu and Tessai both peered out from the general shop area to take in the sight of the black cat, every inch the prideful triumphant hunter, standing proudly in their midst; there was a small white wing trailing forlornly from the right side of her obviously full mouth and a tuft of feathers jutting from under her left lip, protruding between her teeth. Occasionally, the wing twitched weakly and she batted it playfully every time it moved.

“I think it’s still alive.” Ururu observed, tone doubtful.

“Not for long.” Jinta muttered. Then he grinned with the bloodthirsty curiosity common in boys his age. “Did you tear off the other wing? Was it gross?”

“Leave Yoruichi-sama alone to enjoy her prey. I am sure the hunt has made her hungry.” Tessai said, accepting the cat’s behavior with a respectful nod and turning back to his work. She nodded in return and trotted eagerly into the living area behind the shoten. Behind her, she heard Jinta start complaining.

“Well, I’m not cleaning it up! Last time she caught a mouse there was blood and guts everywhere! And this one’s got _feathers…_ Do you know how hard it’ll be to find all of them? I bet…”

His voice trailed off as Yoruichi’s confident stroll took her out of hearing range. It was still early in the morning so it would be another four hours or so until any of them disturbed her, five or six if they decided to order lunch in, as was common. Plenty of time to finish a snack and take a well deserved nap.

**Author's Note:**

> So...this was...a thing. A good thing? A bad thing? I have no idea, but I put way too much time into it to just let it rot on my hard drive. However, this is really just a tentative posting; depending on how the story turns out, I might delete it and move it to another site. I'll also probably heavily edit it.
> 
> I'm new to ao3, though not fanfiction, and I'm still fuzzy on how to post and use the tags. In fact, this is a bit of a trial run for another fic I've got in the works that is too explicit for ffnet; a Shunsui/Jushiro/Starrk PWP (that somehow wound up being nearly 10k, pre-edit) called 'Taming the Wolf' that is loosely based on a few old kinkmeme prompts. I'm iffy about doing it on this site, though. 
> 
> Please let me know if you have any suggestions on what tags I should use or if I've made any major errors with the ones I've got!
> 
> All comments, kudos, and reviews are greatly appreciated! [They'll be used to buy catnip mice to distract Yoruichi. ;) ]


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